Illuminee The Survivor - Folk Features

 

Thank you to Emma Outten for this feature about Illuminee  at Folk Features. Read the feature here   https://folkfeatures.co.uk/illuminee-the-survivor   

Miracle in Kigali on sale at Green Pastures Christian Bookshop

Thank you very much to Green Pastures Christian Bookshop, Dereham, Norfolk for stocking Miracle in Kigali.

For more information about Green Pastures, see www.greenpasturesdereham.org.uk.

Ripples of Hope - Manchester

Illuminee with Sifiso Mazibuko

Illuminee and Paul were really pleased to be invited to take part in the Ripples of Hope Festival launch at Home Manchester at the end of January. The event was organised by Robert F Kennedy Human Rights UK. 

We met Sifiso Mazibuko who was performing at the event and bought a copy of Miracle in Kigali. 

We also met John Elkington, who bought Miracle in Kigali and wrote a very informative blog post, 'Miracle in Manchester' about the event. Read it here.

Miracle in Kigali 2019 Edition Published Monday 8 April

Miracle in Kigali - The Rwandan Genocide, a survivor's journey, by Illuminee Nganemariya with Paul Dickson (2019 edition), marking the 25th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsis, was published in Norwich on Monday 8 April. The book tells the amazing story of Illuminee and her baby son Roger Nsengiyumva's survival in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, during the 1994 Genocide and subsequent life in Norwich.

Miracle in Kigali was first published by The Tagman Press in 2007. This new edition, which updates Illuminee and Roger's story, including Roger's developing film and TV acting career, is published by Paul Dickson Books, price £12.

The authors are donating £2 from the sale of every book to Glaven Valley Churches work with Life in Abundance charity in Rwanda.

Roger was most recently seen on TV as Dadir Hassan in the 2018 BBC drama, Informer. He began his acting career when he was chosen in 2010 to play the role of Fabrice in the feature film, Africa United. The route to Roger's acting career began with Africa United's producer seeing an article about Miracle in Kigali, featuring a photograph of the young Roger.

How does it feel to wake up every morning for more than three months facing the prospect that you and your newborn baby are likely to be brutally murdered that day? This was Illuminee's experience as she existed for 100 days in the living hell of Kigali, after watching her husband be dragged away to be killed by friends who had celebrated their wedding with them a month earlier.

Eventually rescued by soldiers from the Rwandan Patriotic Front on Mount Kigali, Illuminee and Roger moved to the UK in September 1996 to build a new life in Norwich.

"Miracle in Kigali is an extraordinary documents - a unique, tragic, insider's guide to Genocide. This is a book about what a mother will endure to keep her child alive. I read it and wanted to give Illuminee a big hug. She's my hero." Nick Andrews, BBC.

Nick Andrews was the Director of a BBC3 TV documentary, Roger: Genocide Baby (2011), featuring the teenage Roger returning to Rwanda and exploring how his home country had moved on from the Genocide.

Illuminee Nganemariya in Jarrold Norwich 

Miracle in Kigali 2019 edition is on sale at Jarrold Norwich, Jarrold Cromer, Revelation Christian Bookshop Norwich and online at Allthingsnorfolk.com and Amazon. An e-book is also available, click here for the Kindle edition. 

The Genocide Against The Tutsis 25th Anniversary

We commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda at St Peter Mancroft Church, in Norwich, on Sunday 7 April.

Illuminee lit a candle during the morning service to remember those killed in the Genocide. She is pictured after the service with the vicar of St Peter Mancroft, Rev'd Edward Carter.

Miracle in Kigali 2019 Edition

The 2019 edition of Miracle in Kigali, marking the 25^th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, will be published by PaulDickson Books on Monday 8 April.

The new edition updates Illuminée and Roger’s story, including Roger’s developing film and TV acting career. He was most recently seen as Dadir Hassan in the BBC drama Informer.

The authors are donating £2 from the sale of every book to Glaven Valley Churches' work with the Life in Abundance charity in Rwanda.

Paperback, price  £12. ISBN 978-0-9956187-9-4.

Miracle in Kigali was first published by The Tagman Press in October 2007.

How does it feel to wake up every morning for more than three months facing the prospect that you and your newborn baby are likely to be brutally murdered that day?

This was the experience of Illuminée Nganemariya, a young Tutsi bride. By a seeming miracle, she and her son Roger survived the 1994 attempt by Rwanda’s Hutu extremists to wipe their Tutsi neighbours from the face of the earth.

Illuminée existed for 100 days in the living hell of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, after watching her husband be dragged away to be killed by friends who had celebrated their wedding with them a month earlier.

She embarked on a horrific journey through the Genocide, with her baby strapped to her back – their survival was a miracle.

Illuminée and Roger moved to the UK in September 1996 and have built a new life in Norwich.

‘Illuminée still cannot explain how she and her son Roger survived. Reading her book, it becomes clear that there were many, many, miracles.’ Rowan Mantell, Norwich Evening News.

‘Miracle in Kigali is an extraordinary document – a unique, tragic, insiders guide to Genocide. This is a book about what a mother will endure to keep her child alive. I read it and wanted to give Illuminée a big hug. She’s my hero.’ Nick Andrews, BBC

Thank you - African & Caribbean Market

We had a great time at the African & Caribbean Market at The Forum Norwich last month. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and bought a copy of Miracle in Kigali and the Rwandan crafts that we had on display.